POV: Summer is done, and a new group of students walks through your classroom door. You are excited to start fresh and get these lucky little learners as far as you can this year. However, when you begin your phonics lessons, you see that not all of your students remember their beginning consonants sounds. The summer slide has struck!

Never fear though, team Lucky Little Learners is here with our top strategies and resources for a beginning consonants review that is sure to catapult student consonant confidence.

Beginning Consonants Strategies

Below are some tried and true strategies for reintroducing beginning consonants. Try one or all of them in your consonant review.

Start Slow

When reviewing consonants with your first graders, start slow! Trying to introduce all 21 of the consonants in one lesson is sure to feel overwhelming to students. And, it is almost guaranteed that what you taught won't stick. Teach just two or three consonants a day. Or, if you have the time, you can focus on one letter a day for a deeper study.

Review, Review, Review!

Alphabet Slides & Worksheets

Start your year strong with digital teaching slides (or PowerPoint presentations) that cover every letter of the alphabet. Work through the slides during your whole group lessons, followed by independent worksheet practice.

Other Ideas:

Once you have covered a consonant sound, be sure to review that letter. This can be done in a couple of ways:

• Place letter posters of the consonants already covered around the room. Some great spots would be where your class lines up, near the sink or above your board. During line up times, have students review the consonant sounds each time they leave the room.
• Once students have reviewed a consonant sound, have them practice writing it and saying its sound as they do! Try this Alphabet Practice Page.
• If they are ready for a challenge, have them review their handwriting while reviewing beginning consonant sounds and sounding out words with our Jokes & Facts Handwriting Pages.

• Alliteration Posters: Get your students excited about learning beginning consonants with alliteration! A silly alliteration poem for each consonant to be exact! After reviewing a consonant, share the aligning alliteration! Students will be begging to read the silly sentences for each new letter.

Resources

Here are our team's top pick consonants resources.

Videos

MiaAcademy Learning Channel: Learn to Read Consonant Review

In this comprehensive review, students will be reintroduced in how to make consonant sounds (correct mouth formation) in a kid friendly way.

Jack Hartmann: What letter is it?

Jack Hartmann's videos are multipurpose. They get students up out of their seat for a movement break, while also learning! In this video, Jack will provide letter sounds and the students need to name the letter. The video covers vowels and consonants.

Books

Using a picture book is an incredibly engaging tool for any lesson. Check out the consonant themed books below, AND if when the time comes, check out this post featuring books for each vowel sound plus more: Best Books for Teaching Phonics Skills.

Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom by Bill Martin Jr.

Kids will love the funny way the author introduces the letters in this colorful story. Bonus idea: have students hold up letter cards when their letter climbs the tree.

Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein

As you read this crazy book, students will notice the author has switched around the beginning consonants of many words! They will have fun trying to figure out what consonant belongs with each word.

Challenge Time

If your 1st graders are ready for a challenge, check out these 2nd grade phonics posts!

Happy teaching!